The daring overnight escape last week of two convicted bank robbers who descended several stories from their federal jail cell in the South Loop on a rope made of bedsheets was a marvel to many for the ingenuity it required.

But the escape also was a massive security breach at a building that has long drawn sharp criticism for less publicized, routine problems.

Those familiar with the inner workings of the Metropolitan Correctional Center say the concrete high-rise facility is overcrowded. Though intended as a pretrial jail, it has become more of a long-term prison that houses inmates for up to five or six years, they say.

Critics also complain of inconsistent job performance by the guards, some of whom have been accused of crimes while on duty, including smuggling contraband. Some observers say the MCC, like other federal correctional facilities, is stretched thin by federal budget cuts.

"You have a very overcrowded, underfunded situation in which people charged with the responsibility for caring for all of this are overwhelmed," said veteran defense attorney Jeffrey Steinback, who has made countless visits to the MCC over the years.

The 28-story building at 71 W. Van Buren St. houses about 700 inmates awaiting trial, sentencing or placement in a prison to serve a sentence.

Joseph "Jose" Banks and Kenneth Conley made their escape in the early morning of Dec. 18. Banks was caught just two days later, but Conley, remained at large Tuesday.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesman said late last week that the escape remains under investigation and refused to comment on specifics.

But one facet of the investigation is whether a guard who monitors the security cameras in a control room had left the post to help with bed checks, the Tribune reported last week.

If true, that would expose both the staffing issues and the risk of housing inmates for long periods, which leaves them plenty of time to learn the rhythms and routines of the building. Banks has been in custody since September 2008.

"The prisoners watch us," said Dale Deshotel, national president of the union that represents federal prison workers. "They're in there all day watching when the officers go to do their reports. They know when the officer is coming for a shakedown. They look for holes, for opportunities."

Deshotel and a local union official also complained that budget cuts in 2005 hit the entire prison hard in terms of staffing.

A 24-hour foot patrol around the perimeter of the building has been cut back to a 10 p.m.-7 a.m. shift, said the local official, who requested his name not be used.

And, according to the official, who began his career as a guard at the jail, the outside foot patrol is also often called inside to help.

Prison officials have not saidwhether a guard was monitoring security cameras when Banks and Conley rappelled down the side of the building . But the local union official said those guards are often pulled off post every couple of hours for about 30 minutes to help with bed check rounds.

Banks and Conley were last accounted for at 10 p.m. Dec.17. They were next seen about 2:40 a.m. the following morning on a downtown security camera hopping into a taxi at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue, about five blocks from the building.

It is possible they eluded a midnight bed check. Clothing and other items had been stuffed underneath their covers to make it appear they were sleeping, and guards typically do visual head counts with a flashlight, authorities said.

Even with the staffing issues, the local union official remained surprised that Banks and Conley pulled off their escape.

"I don't know how they did it," he said. "I really thought that place was escape-proof. … I'm embarrassed, as are all the employees. Something obviously went wrong."

Other longtime Chicago defense attorneys who represent clients housed at the MCC have complaints not just about the lack of staff but the quality of who is working there.

Thomas Anthony Durkin said that over the years he has noticed a deterioration of the way guards handle attorneys trying to visit clients, saying they are alternately lazy, rude or incompetent. He and other attorneys spoke of hour-plus waits to get inside to meet with clients.

"Things got so bad over there that I refuse to go over there unless it's an absolutely emergency with one of my clients," Durkin said. "They've made it absurd. I think the place is a nightmare."

The attorneys claim there is no predictability to a visit either.

"My experience with the MCC is (that) how well the rules are followed depends on who is working," defense attorney Andrea Gambino said. "You never know what's going to happen."

Contraband has beendiscovered inside the building, sometimes smuggled during a visit or with the help of staff, according to court records and attorneys. Charges have been brought against guards in the past.